Efficient computation of spatial filter matrices for steering transmit diversity in a MIMO communication system

ABSTRACT

Techniques for efficiently computing spatial filter matrices are described. The channel response matrices for a MIMO channel may be highly correlated if the channel is relatively static over a range of transmission spans. In this case, an initial spatial filter matrix may be derived based on one channel response matrix, and a spatial filter matrix for each transmission span may be computed based on the initial spatial filter matrix and a steering matrix used for that transmission span. The channel response matrices may be partially correlated if the MIMO channel is not static but does not change abruptly. In this case, a spatial filter matrix may be derived for one transmission span l and used to derive an initial spatial filter matrix for another transmission span m. A spatial filter matrix for transmission span m may be computed based on the initial spatial filter matrix, e.g., using an iterative procedure.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. §120

The present Application for Patent is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 10/882,491 entitled “EFFICIENT COMPUTATION OF SPATIAL FILTER MATRICES FOR STEERING TRANSMIT DIVERSITY IN A MIMO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM” filed Jun. 30, 2004, allowed, and assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

I. Field

The present invention relates generally to communication, and more specifically to spatial processing for data transmission in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system.

II. Background

A MIMO system employs multiple (N_(T)) transmit antennas at a transmitting entity and multiple (N_(R)) receive antennas at a receiving entity for data transmission. A MIMO channel formed by the N_(T) transmit antennas and N_(R) receive antennas may be decomposed into N_(S) spatial channels, where N_(S)≦min {N_(T), N_(R)}. The N_(S) spatial channels may be used to transmit data in parallel to achieve higher throughput and/or redundantly to achieve greater reliability.

Each spatial channel may experience various deleterious channel conditions such as, e.g., fading, multipath, and interference effects. The N_(S) spatial channels may also experience different channel conditions and may achieve different signal-to-noise-and-interference ratios (SNRs). The SNR of each spatial channel determines its transmission capacity, which is typically quantified by a particular data rate that may be reliably transmitted on the spatial channel. For a time variant wireless channel, the channel conditions change over time and the SNR of each spatial channel also changes over time.

To improve performance, the MIMO system may utilize some form of feedback whereby the receiving entity evaluates the spatial channels and provides feedback information indicating the channel condition or the transmission capacity of each spatial channel. The transmitting entity may then adjust the data transmission on each spatial channel based on the feedback information. However, this feedback information may not be available for various reasons. For example, the system may not support feedback transmission from the receiving entity, or the wireless channel may change more rapidly than the rate at which the receiving entity can estimate the wireless channel and/or send back the feedback information. In any case, if the transmitting entity does not know the channel condition, then it may need to transmit data at a low rate so that the data transmission can be reliably decoded by the receiving entity even with the worst-case channel condition. The performance of such a system would be dictated by the expected worst-case channel condition, which is highly undesirable.

To improve performance (e.g., when feedback information is not available), the transmitting entity may perform spatial processing such that the data transmission does not observe the worst-case channel condition for an extended period of time, as described below. A higher data rate may then be used for the data transmission. However, this spatial processing represents additional complexity for both the transmitting and receiving entities.

There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to efficiently perform spatial processing to improve performance in a MIMO system.

SUMMARY

Techniques for efficiently computing spatial filter matrices used for spatial processing by a receiving entity are described herein. A transmitting entity may transmit data via a MIMO channel using either full channel state information (“full-CSI”) or “partial-CSI” transmission, as described below. The transmitting entity may also utilize steering transmit diversity (STD) for improved performance. With STD, the transmitting entity performs spatial processing with different steering matrices so that the data transmission observes an ensemble of effective channels and is not stuck on a “bad” channel realization for an extended period of time. The receiving entity performs the complementary receiver spatial processing for either full-CSI or partial-CSI transmission and for steering transmit diversity. The spatial filter matrices used for receiver spatial processing may be efficiently computed if the MIMO channel is relatively static or does not change abruptly.

If the MIMO channel is relatively static over a range of transmission spans (e.g., a range of symbol periods or frequency subbands), then the channel response matrices for the MIMO channel over these transmission spans may be highly correlated. In this case, an initial spatial filter matrix may be derived based on a channel response matrix and a selected receiver processing technique, as described below. A spatial filter matrix for each transmission span within the static range may then be computed based on the initial spatial filter matrix and the steering matrix used for that transmission span.

If the MIMO channel is not static but does not change abruptly, then the channel response matrices for different transmission spans may be partially correlated. In this case, a spatial filter matrix M. (l) may be derived for a given transmission span l and used to derive an initial spatial filter matrix for another transmission span m. A spatial filter matrix M_(x)(m) for transmission span m may then be computed based on the initial spatial filter matrix, e.g., using an iterative procedure. The same processing may be repeated over a range of transmission spans of interest, so that each newly derived spatial filter matrix may be used to compute another spatial filter matrix for another transmission span.

The steering matrices may be defined such that the computation of the spatial filter matrices can be simplified. Various aspects and embodiments of the invention are described in further detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a transmitting entity and a receiving entity in a MIMO system;

FIG. 2 shows a model for data transmission with steering transmit diversity;

FIGS. 3A and 3B show data transmission in a single-carrier MIMO system and a multi-carrier MIMO system, respectively;

FIGS. 4 and 5 show processes to compute spatial filter matrices for fully and partially correlated channel response matrices, respectively;

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an access point and a user terminal; and

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a processor for spatial filter matrix computation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows a simple block diagram of a transmitting entity 110 and a receiving entity 150 in a MIMO system 100. At transmitting entity 110, a transmit (TX) spatial processor 120 performs spatial processing on data symbols (denoted by a vector s(m)) to generate transmit symbols (denoted by a vector x(m)). As used herein, a “data symbol” is a modulation symbol for data, a “pilot symbol” is a modulation symbol for pilot (which is data that is known a priori by both the transmitting and receiving entities), a “transmit symbol” is a symbol to be sent from a transmit antenna, a “received symbol” is a symbol obtained from a receive antenna, and a modulation symbol is a complex value for a point in a signal constellation used for a modulation scheme (e.g., M-PSK, M-QAM, and so on). The spatial processing is performed based on steering matrices V(m) and possibly other matrices. The transmit symbols are further conditioned by a transmitter unit (TMTR) 122 to generate N_(T) modulated signals, which are transmitted from N_(T) transmit antennas 124 and via a MIMO channel.

At receiving entity 150, the transmitted modulated signals are received by N_(R) receive antennas 152, and the N_(R) received signals are conditioned by a receiver unit (RCVR) 154 to obtain received symbols (denoted by a vector r(m)). A receive (RX) spatial processor 160 then performs receiver spatial processing (or spatial matched filtering) on the received symbols with spatial filter matrices (denoted by M_(x)(m)) to obtain “detected” data symbols (denoted by a vector ŝ(m) ). The detected data symbols are estimates of the data symbols sent by transmitting entity 110. The spatial processing at the transmitting and receiving entities are described below.

The spatial filter matrix computation techniques described herein may be used for a single-carrier MIMO system as well as a multi-carrier MIMO system. Multiple carriers may be obtained with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), discrete multi tone (DMT), some other multi-carrier modulation techniques, or some other construct. OFDM effectively partitions the overall system bandwidth into multiple (N_(F)) orthogonal subbands, which are also referred to as tones, subcarriers, bins, and frequency channels. With OFDM, each subband is associated with a respective subcarrier that may be modulated with data.

In MIMO system 100, the MIMO channel formed by the N_(T) transmit antennas at transmitting entity 110 and the N_(R) receive antennas at receiving entity 150 may be characterized by an N_(R)×N_(T) channel response matrix H(m), which may be given as: $\begin{matrix} {{{\underset{\_}{H}(m)} = \begin{bmatrix} {h_{1,1}(m)} & {h_{1,2}(m)} & \cdots & {h_{1,N_{T}}(m)} \\ {h_{2,1}(m)} & {h_{2,2}(m)} & \cdots & {h_{2,N_{T}}(m)} \\ \vdots & \vdots & ⋰ & \vdots \\ {h_{N_{R},1}(m)} & {h_{N_{R},2}(m)} & \cdots & {h_{N_{R},N_{T}}(m)} \end{bmatrix}},} & {{Eq}\quad(1)} \end{matrix}$ where entry h_(i,j)(m), for i=1 . . . N_(R) and j=1 . . . N_(T), denotes the coupling or complex channel gain between transmit antenna j and receive antenna i for transmission span m. A transmission span may cover time and/or frequency dimensions. For example, in a single-carrier MIMO system, a transmission span may correspond to one symbol period, which is the time interval to transmit one data symbol. In a multi-carrier MIMO system, a transmission span may correspond to one subband in one symbol period. A transmission span may also cover multiple symbol periods and/or multiple subbands. For simplicity, the MIMO channel is assumed to be full rank with N_(S)=N_(T)≦N_(R).

The MIMO system may support data transmission using one or more operating modes such as, for example, a “calibrated” mode and an “uncalibrated” mode. The calibrated mode may employ full-CSI transmission whereby data is transmitted on orthogonal spatial channels (or “eigenmodes”) of the MIMO channel. The uncalibrated mode may employ partial-CSI transmission whereby data is transmitted on spatial channels of the MIMO channel, e.g., from individual transmit antennas.

The MIMO system may also employ steering transmit diversity (STD) to improve performance. With STD, the transmitting entity performs spatial processing with steering matrices so that a data transmission observes an ensemble of effective channels and is not stuck on a single bad channel realization for an extended period of time. Consequently, performance is not dictated by the worst-case channel condition.

1. Calibrated Mode—Full-CSI Transmission

For full-CSI transmission, eigenvalue decomposition may be performed on a correlation matrix of H(m) to obtain N_(S) eigenmodes of H(m), as follows: R(m)=H ^(H)(m)·H(m)=E(m)·Δ(m)·E ^(H)(m),  Eq (2) where R(m) is an N_(T)×N_(T) correlation matrix of H(m);

E(m) is an N_(T)×N_(T) unitary matrix whose columns are eigenvectors of R(m);

Δ(m) is an N_(T)×N_(T) diagonal matrix of eigenvalues of R(m); and

“^(H)” denotes a conjugate transpose.

A unitary matrix U is characterized by the property U^(H)·U=I, where I is the identity matrix. The columns of a unitary matrix are orthogonal to one another, and each column has unit power. The matrix E(m) may be used for spatial processing by the transmitting entity to transmit data on the N_(S) eigenmodes of H(m). The eigenmodes may be viewed as orthogonal spatial channels obtained through decomposition. The diagonal entries of Δ(m) are eigenvalues of R(m), which represent the power gains for the N_(S) eigenmodes. Singular value decomposition may also be performed to obtain matrices of left and right eigenvectors, which may be used for full-CSI transmission.

The transmitting entity performs spatial processing for full-CSI transmission with steering transmit diversity, as follows: x _(f)(m)=E(m)·V(m)·s(m),  Eq (3) where s(m) is an N_(T)×1 vector with up to N_(S) data symbols to be sent in transmission span m;

V(m) is an N_(T)×N_(T) steering matrix for transmission span m;

E(m) is the matrix of eigenvectors for transmission span m; and

-   -   x_(f)(m) is an N_(T)×1 vector with N_(T) transmit symbols to be         sent from the N_(T) transmit antennas in transmission span m.         As shown in equation (3), each data symbol in s(m) is         effectively spatially spread with a respective column of V(m).         If N_(S)<N_(T), then N_(S) data symbols in s(m) are spatially         spread with an N_(S)×N_(S) matrix V(m) to obtain N_(S) “spread”         symbols. Each spread symbol includes a component of each of the         N_(S) data symbols. The N_(S) spread symbols from the spatial         spreading are then sent on the N_(S) eigenmodes of H(m). Each         steering matrix V(m) is a unitary matrix and may be generated as         described below.

The receiving entity obtains received symbols from the N_(R) receive antennas, which may be expressed as: $\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} {{{\underset{\_}{r}}_{f}(m)} = {{{\underset{\_}{H}(m)} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{x}}_{f}(m)}} + {\underset{\_}{n}(m)}}} \\ {{= {{{\underset{\_}{H}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{E}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{V}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{s}(m)}} + {\underset{\_}{n}(m)}}},} \\ {{{{\underset{\_}{H}}_{f\_ eff}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{s}(m)}} + {\underset{\_}{n}(m)}} \end{matrix} & {{Eq}\quad(4)} \end{matrix}$ where r_(f)(m) is an N_(R)×1 vector with N_(R) received symbols obtained via the N_(R) receive antennas in transmission span m;

n(m) is a noise vector for transmission span m; and

H_(f—eff)(m) is an N_(R)×N_(T) “effective” MIMO channel response matrix observed by the data vector s(m) for full-CSI transmission with steering transmit diversity, which is: H _(f—eff)(m)=H(m)·E(m)·Y(m)  Eq (5) For simplicity, the noise is assumed to be additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) with a zero mean vector and a covariance matrix of Φ_(nn)=σ²·I, where σ² is the variance of the noise and I is the identity matrix.

The receiving entity can recover the data symbols in s(m) using various receiver processing techniques. The techniques applicable for full-CSI transmission include a full-CSI technique and a minimum mean square error (MMSE) technique.

For the full-CSI technique, the receiving entity may derive a spatial filter matrix M_(fcsi)(m) as follows: M _(fcsi)(m)=V ^(H)(m)·Δ⁻¹(m)·E ^(H)(m)·H^(H)(m)  Eq (6) The receiving entity may perform receiver spatial processing using M_(fcsi)(m), as follows: $\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} {{{{\underset{\_}{\hat{s}}}_{fcsi}(m)} = {{{\underset{\_}{M}}_{fcsi}(m)} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{r}}_{f}(m)}}},} \\ {{{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}(m)} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{\Lambda}}^{- 1}(m)} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{E}}^{H}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{H}}^{H} \cdot (m) \cdot} \\ {\left\lbrack {{{\underset{\_}{H}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{E}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{V}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{s}(m)}} + {\underset{\_}{n}(m)}} \right\rbrack,} \\ {{{\underset{\_}{s}(m)} + {{\underset{\_}{n}}_{f}(m)}},} \end{matrix} & {{Eq}\quad(9)} \end{matrix}$ where ŝ_(fcsi)(m) is an N_(T)×1 vector with N_(S) detected data symbols; and

n_(f)(m) is the post-detection noise after the receiver spatial processing.

For the MMSE technique, the receiving entity may derive a spatial filter matrix M_(f—mmse)(m) as follows: M _(f—mmse)(m)=[H_(f—eff) ^(H)(m)·H_(f—eff)(m)+σ² ·] ⁻¹ H _(f—eff) ^(H)(m)  Eq (8) The spatial filter matrix M_(f—mmse)(m) minimizes the mean square error between the symbol estimates from the spatial filter and the data symbols in s(m).

The receiving entity may perform MMSE spatial processing, as follows: $\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} {{{{\underset{\_}{\hat{s}}}_{f\_ mmse}(m)} = {{{\underset{\_}{D}}_{f\_ mmse}^{- 1}(m)} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{M}}_{f\_ mmse}(m)} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{r}}_{f}(m)}}},} \\ {= {{{\underset{\_}{D}}_{f\_ mmse}^{- 1}(m)} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{M}}_{f\_ mmse}(m)} \cdot}} \\ {\left\lbrack {{{\underset{\_}{H}}_{f\_ eff}{(m) \cdot {\underset{\_}{s}(m)}}} + {\underset{\_}{n}(m)}} \right\rbrack,} \\ {= {{{\underset{\_}{D}}_{f\_ mmse}^{- 1}(m)} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{M}}_{f\_ mmse}(m)} \cdot}} \\ {{{{{\underset{\_}{H}}_{f\_ eff}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{s}(m)}} + {{\underset{\_}{n}}_{f\_ mmse}(m)}},} \end{matrix} & {{Eq}\quad(9)} \end{matrix}$ where D_(f—mmse)(m) is a diagonal matrix containing the diagonal elements of M_(f—mmse)(m)·H_(f—eff)(m), or D_(f—mmse)(m)=diag [M_(f—mmse)(m)·H_(f—eff)(m)]; and

n_(f—mmse)(m) is the MMSE filtered noise.

The symbol estimates from the spatial filter M_(f—mmse)(m) are unnormalized estimates of the data symbols. The multiplication with the scaling matrix D_(f—mmse)(m) provides normalized estimates of the data symbols.

Full-CSI transmission attempts to send data on the eigenmodes of H(m). However, a full-CSI data transmission may not be completely orthogonal due to, for example, an imperfect estimate of H(m), error in the eigenvalue decomposition, finite arithmetic precision, and so on. The MMSE technique can account for (or “clean up”) any loss of orthogonality in the full-CSI data transmission.

Table 1 summarizes the spatial processing at the transmitting and receiving entities for full-CSI transmission with steering transmit diversity. TABLE 1 Entity Calibrated Mode - Full-CSI Transmission Transmitter x _(f)(m) = E(m) · V(m) · s(m) Spatial Processing H _(f) _(—) eff(m) = H(m) · E(m) · V(m) Effective Channel Receiver M _(fcsi)(m) = V ^(H)(m) · Λ ⁻¹(m) · E ^(H)(m) · H ^(H)(m) Spatial Filter Matrix full-CSI ŝ _(fcsi)(m) = M _(fcsi)(m) · r _(f)(m) Spatial Processing Receiver M _(f) _(—) mmse(m) = [H _(f) _(—) eff^(H)(m) · H _(f) _(—) eff(m) + σ²· I]⁻¹ · H ^(H) _(f) _(—) eff(m) Spatial Filter Matrix MMSE D _(f) _(—) mmse(m) = diag [M _(f) _(—) mmse(m) · H _(f) _(—) eff(m)] ŝ _(f) _(—) mmse(m) = D _(f) _(—) mmse⁻¹(m) · M _(f) _(—) mmse(m) · r _(f)(m) Spatial Processing

2. Uncalibrated Mode—Partial-CSI Transmission

For partial-CSI transmission with steering transmit diversity, the transmitting entity performs spatial processing as follows: x _(p)(m)=V(m)·s(m),  Eq (10) where x_(p)(m) is the transmit data vector for transmission span m. As shown in equation (10), each data symbol in s(m) is spatially spread with a respective column of V(m). The N_(T) spread symbols resulting from the multiplication with V(m) are then transmitted from the N_(T) transmit antennas.

The receiving entity obtains received symbols, which may be expressed as: $\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} {{{\underset{\_}{r}}_{p}(m)} = {{{\underset{\_}{H}(m)} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{x}}_{p}(m)}} + {\underset{\_}{n}(m)}}} \\ {{= {{{\underset{\_}{H}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{V}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{s}(m)}} + {\underset{\_}{n}(m)}}},} \\ {{= {{{{\underset{\_}{H}}_{p\_ eff}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{s}(m)}} + {\underset{\_}{n}(m)}}},} \end{matrix} & {{Eq}\quad(11)} \end{matrix}$ where r_(p)(m) is the received symbol vector for transmission span m; and

H_(p—eff)(m) is an N_(R)×N_(T) effective MIMO channel response matrix observed by s(m) for partial-CSI transmission with steering transmit diversity, which is: H _(p—eff)(m)=H(m)·V(m).  Eq (12)

The receiving entity can recover the data symbols in s(m) using various receiver processing techniques. The techniques applicable for partial-CSI transmission include a channel correlation matrix inversion (CCMI) technique (which is also commonly called a zero-forcing technique), the MMSE technique, and a successive interference cancellation (SIC) technique.

For the CCMI technique, the receiving entity may derive a spatial filter matrix M_(ccmi)(m), as follows: M _(ccmi)(m)=[H _(p—eff) ^(H)(m)·H_(p—eff)(m)]⁻¹ ·H _(p—eff) ^(H)(m)=R _(p—eff) ⁻¹(m)·H _(p—eff) ^(H)(m).  Eq (13) The receiving entity may perform CCMI spatial processing, as follows: $\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} {{{{\underset{\_}{\hat{s}}}_{ccmi}(m)} = {{{\underset{\_}{M}}_{ccmi}(m)} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{r}}_{p}(m)}}},} \\ {{= {{{\underset{\_}{R}}_{p\_ eff}^{- 1}(m)} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{H}}_{p\_ eff}^{H}(m)} \cdot \left\lbrack {{{{\underset{\_}{H}}_{p\_ eff}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{s}(m)}} + {\underset{\_}{n}(m)}} \right\rbrack}},} \\ {{= {{\underset{\_}{s}(m)} + {{\underset{\_}{n}}_{ccmi}(m)}}},} \end{matrix} & {{Eq}\quad(14)} \end{matrix}$ where n_(ccmi)(m) is the CCMI filtered noise. Due to the structure of R_(p—eff)(m), the CCMI technique may amplify the noise.

For the MMSE technique, the receiving entity may derive a spatial filter matrix M_(p—mmse)(m), as follows: M _(p—mmse)(m)=[H _(p—eff) ^(H)(m)H _(p—eff)(m)+σ² I] ⁻¹ H _(p—eff) ^(H)(m).  Eq (15) Equation (15) for the partial-CSI transmission has the same form as equation (8) for the full-CSI transmission. However, H_(p—eff)(m) (instead of H_(f—eff)(m) ) is used in equation (15) for partial-CSI transmission.

The receiving entity may perform MMSE spatial processing, as follows: $\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} {{{{\underset{\_}{\hat{s}}}_{p\_ mmse}(m)} = {{{\underset{\_}{D}}_{p\_ mmse}^{- 1}(m)} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{M}}_{p\_ mmse}(m)} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{r}}_{p}(m)}}},} \\ {= {{{\underset{\_}{D}}_{p\_ mmse}^{- 1}(m)} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{M}}_{p\_ mmse}(m)} \cdot}} \\ {{{{{\underset{\_}{H}}_{p\_ eff}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{s}(m)}} + {{\underset{\_}{n}}_{p\_ mmse}(m)}},} \end{matrix} & {{Eq}\quad(9)} \end{matrix}$ where D_(p—mmse)(m)=diag[M_(p—mmse)(m)·H_(p—eff)(m)] and n_(p—mmse)(m) is the MMSE filtered noise for partial-CSI transmission.

For the SIC technique, the receiving entity recovers the data symbols in s(m) in successive stages. For clarity, the following description assumes that each element of s(m) and each element of r_(p)(m) corresponds to one data symbol stream. The receiving entity processes the N_(R) received symbol streams in r_(p)(m) in N_(S) successive stages to recover the N_(S) data symbol streams in s(m). Typically, the SIC processing is such that one packet is recovered for one stream, and then another packet is recovered for another stream, and so on. For simplicity, the following description assumes N_(S)=N_(T).

For each stage l, where l=1 . . . N_(S), the receiving entity performs receiver spatial processing on N_(R) input symbol streams r_(p) ^(l)(m) for that stage. The input symbol streams for the first stage (l=1) are the received symbol streams, or r_(p) ¹(m)=r_(p)(m). The input symbol streams for each subsequent stage (l=2 . . . N_(S)) are modified symbol streams from a preceding stage. The receiver spatial processing for stage l is based on a spatial filter matrix M_(x) ^(l)(m), which may be derived based on a reduced effective channel response matrix H_(p—eff) ^(l)(m) and further in accordance with the CCMI, MMSE, or some other technique. H_(p—eff) ^(l)(m) contains N_(S)−l+1 columns in H_(p—eff)(m) corresponding to N_(S)−l+1 data symbol streams not yet recovered in stage l. The receiving entity obtains one detected data symbol stream {ŝ_(l)} for stage l and further processes (e.g., demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes) this stream to obtain a corresponding decoded data stream {{circumflex over (d)}_(l)}.

The receiving entity next estimates the interference that data symbol stream {s_(l)} causes to the other data symbol streams not yet recovered. To estimate the interference, the receiving entity processes (e.g., re-encodes, interleaves, and symbol maps) the decoded data stream {{circumflex over (d)}_(l)} in the same manner performed by the transmitting entity for this stream and obtains a stream of “remodulated” symbols {{hacek over (s)}}, which is an estimate of the data symbol stream {s_(l)} just recovered. The receiving entity then performs spatial processing on the remodulated symbol stream with steering matrices V(m) and further multiplies the result with channel response matrices H(m) to obtain N_(R) interference components i^(l)(m) caused by stream {s_(l)}. The receiving entity then subtracts the N_(R) interference components i^(l)(m) from the N_(R) input symbol streams r_(p) ^(l)(m) for the current stage l to obtain N_(R) input symbol streams r_(p) ^(l+1)(m) for the next stage, or r_(p) ^(l+1)(m)=r_(p) ^(l)(m)−i^(l)(m). The input symbol streams r_(p) ^(l+1)(m) represent the streams that the receiving entity would have received if the data symbol stream {s_(l)} had not been transmitted, assuming that the interference cancellation was effectively performed. The receiving entity then repeats the same processing on the N_(R) input symbol streams r_(p) ^(l+1)(m) to recover another data stream. However, the effective channel response matrix H_(p—eff) ^(l+1)(m) for the subsequent stage l+1 is reduced by one column corresponding to the data symbol stream {s_(l)} recovered in stage l.

For the SIC technique, the SNR of each data symbol stream is dependent on (1) the receiver processing technique (e.g., CCMI or MMSE) used for each stage, (2) the specific stage in which the data symbol stream is recovered, and (3) the amount of interference due to the data symbol streams recovered in later stages. In general, the SNR progressively improves for data symbol streams recovered in later stages because the interference from data symbol streams recovered in prior stages is canceled. This may then allow higher rates to be used for data symbol streams recovered in later stages.

Table 2 summarizes the spatial processing at the transmitting and receiving entities for partial-CSI transmission with steering transmit diversity. For simplicity, the SIC technique is not shown in Table 2. TABLE 2 Entity Uncalibrated Mode - Partial-CSI Transmission Transmitter x _(p)(m) = V(m) · s(m) Spatial Processing H _(p) _(—) eff(m) = H(m) · V(m) Effective Channel Receiver M _(ccmi)(m) = [H _(p) _(—) eff^(H)(m) · H _(p) _(—) eff(m)]⁻¹ · H _(p) _(—) eff^(H)(m) Spatial Filter Matrix CCMI ŝ _(ccmi)(m) = M _(ccmi)(m) · r _(p)(m) Spatial Processing Receiver M _(p) _(—) mmse(m) = [H _(p) _(—) eff^(H)(m) · H _(p) _(—) eff(m) + σ² · I]⁻¹ · Spatial Filter Matrix MMSE H _(p) _(—) eff^(H)(m) D _(p) _(—) mmse(m) = diag [M _(p) _(—) mmse(m) · H _(p) _(—) eff(m)] ŝ _(p) _(—) mmse(m) = D _(p) _(—) mmse⁻¹ · M _(p) _(—) mmse(m) · r _(p)(m) Spatial Processing

FIG. 2 shows a model for data transmission with steering transmit diversity. Transmitting entity 110 performs spatial processing (or spatial spreading) for steering transmit diversity (block 220) and spatial processing for either full-CSI or partial-CSI transmission (block 230). Receiving entity 150 performs receiver spatial processing for full-CSI or partial-CSI transmission (block 260) and receiver spatial processing (or spatial despreading) for steering transmit diversity (block 270). As shown in FIG. 2, the transmitting entity performs spatial spreading for steering transmit diversity prior to the spatial processing (if any) for full-CSI and partial-CSI transmission. The receiving entity may perform the complementary receiver spatial processing for full-CSI or partial-CSI transmission followed by spatial despreading for steering transmit diversity.

3. Spatial Filter Matrix Computation

With steering transmit diversity, different steering matrices V(m) may be used for different transmission spans to randomize the effective MIMO channel observed by a data transmission. This may then improve performance since the data transmission does not observe a “bad” MIMO channel realization for an extended period of time. The transmission spans may correspond to symbol periods for a single-carrier MIMO system or subbands for a multi-carrier MIMO system.

FIG. 3A shows a partial-CSI transmission with steering transmit diversity for a single-carrier MIMO system. For this system, the transmission span index m may be equal to a symbol period index n (or m=n). One vector s(n) of data symbols may be transmitted in each symbol period n and spatially spread with a steering matrix V(n) selected for that symbol period. Each data symbol vector s(n) observes an effective MIMO channel response of H_(p—eff)(n)=H(n)·V(n) and is recovered using a spatial filter matrix M_(x)(n).

FIG. 3B shows a partial-CSI transmission with steering transmit diversity in a multi-carrier MIMO system. For this system, the transmission span index m may be equal to a subband index k (or m=k). For each symbol period, one vector s(k) of data symbols may be transmitted in each subband k and spatially spread with a steering matrix V(k) selected for that subband. Each data symbol vector s(k) observes an effective MIMO channel response of H_(p—eff)(k)=H(k)·V(k) and is recovered using a spatial filter matrix M_(x)(k). The vector s(k) and the matrices V(k), H(k), and M_(x)(k) are also a function of symbol period n, but this is not shown for simplicity.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, if different steering matrices are used for different transmission spans, then the spatial filter matrices used by the receiving entity are a function of the transmission span index m. This is true even if the channel response matrix H(m) is fixed or constant over a range of transmission spans. For example, in a multi-carrier MIMO system, H(k) may be fixed across a set of subbands for a flat fading MIMO channel with a flat frequency response. As another example, in a single-carrier MIMO system, H(n) may be fixed over a given time interval for a MIMO channel with no temporal fading. This time interval may correspond to all or a portion of the time duration used to transmit a block of data symbols that is coded and decoded as a block.

A degree of correlation typically exists between the channel response matrices for adjacent transmission spans, e.g., between H(m) and H(m±1). This correlation may be exploited to simplify the computation for the spatial filter matrices at the receiving entity. The computation is described below for two cases—full-correlation and partial-correlation.

A. Full Correlation

With full-correlation, the channel response matrix for the MIMO channel is fixed over a range of transmission span indices of interest, e.g., for m=1 . . . M, where M may be any integer value greater than one. Thus, H(1)=H(2)=. . . =H(M)=H.

For the full-CSI technique, the spatial filter matrix M_(fcsi)(m) with fully correlated channel response matrices may be expressed as: M _(fcsi)(m)=V^(H)(m)·Δ⁻¹ ·E ^(H) ·H ^(H).  Eq (17) The spatial filter matrix M_(fcsi)(m) may then be computed as: M _(fcsi)(m)=V ^(H)(m)·M _(fcsi—base), for m=1 . . . M  Eq (18) where M_(fcsi—base)=Δ⁻¹ ·E ^(H) ·H ^(H) is a base spatial filter matrix, which is the spatial filter matrix for the full-CSI technique without steering transmit diversity. The base spatial filter matrix M_(fcsi)base is not a function of transmission span m because the channel response matrix H is fixed. Equation (18) indicates that the spatial filter matrix M_(fcsi)(m) for each transmission span m may be obtained by pre-multiplying the base spatial filter matrix M_(fcsi—base) with the steering matrix V^(H)(m) used for that transmission span.

Alternatively, the spatial filter matrix M_(fcsi)(m) may be computed as: M _(fcsi)(m)=W₁(m)·M _(fcsi)(1) , for m=2 . . . M  Eq (19) where M_(fcsi)(1)=V^(H)(1)·Δ⁻¹·E^(H)·H^(H) and W₁(m)=V^(H)(m)·V(1). Equation (19) indicates that the spatial filter matrix M_(fcsi)(m) for each transmission span m may be obtained by pre-multiplying the spatial filter matrix M_(ccmi)(1) for transmission span 1 with the matrix W₁(m). The matrices W₁(m), for m=2 . . . M, are unitary matrices, each of which is obtained by multiplying two unitary steering matrices V(m) and V(1). The matrices W₁(m) may be pre-computed and stored in a memory.

For the MMSE technique for full-CSI transmission, the spatial filter matrix M_(f—mmse)(m) with fully correlated channel response matrices may be expressed as: $\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} {{{{\underset{\_}{M}}_{f\_ mmse}(m)} = {\left\lbrack {{{{\underset{\_}{H}}_{f\_ eff}^{H}(m)} \cdot {H_{f\_ eff}(m)}} + {\sigma^{2} \cdot \underset{\_}{I}}} \right\rbrack^{- 1} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{H}}_{f\_ eff}^{H}(m)}}},} \\ {= {\left\lbrack {{{{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{E}}^{H} \cdot H^{H} \cdot \underset{\_}{H} \cdot \underset{\_}{E} \cdot {\underset{\_}{V}(m)}} + {\sigma^{2} \cdot \underset{\_}{I}}} \right\rbrack^{- 1} \cdot}} \\ {{{{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{E}}^{H} \cdot {\underset{\_}{H}}^{H}},} \\ {{{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}(m)} \cdot \left\lbrack {{\underset{\_}{E}}^{H} \cdot H^{H} \cdot \underset{\_}{H} \cdot \underset{\_}{E} \cdot \sigma^{2} \cdot \underset{\_}{I}} \right\rbrack^{- 1} \cdot {\underset{\_}{E}}^{H} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{H}}^{H}.}} \end{matrix} & {{Eq}\quad(20)} \end{matrix}$ Equation (20) is derived using the properties: (A·B)⁻¹=B⁻¹·A⁻¹ and V·V^(H)=I. The term within bracket in the second equality in equation (20) may be expressed as: $\begin{matrix} {\left\lbrack {{{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H} \cdot {\underset{\_}{E}}^{H} \cdot {\underset{\_}{H}}^{H} \cdot \underset{\_}{H} \cdot \underset{\_}{E} \cdot \underset{\_}{V}} + {\sigma^{2} \cdot \underset{\_}{I}}} \right\rbrack = \left\lbrack {{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}\left( {{\underset{\_}{E}}^{H} \cdot {\underset{\_}{H}}^{H} \cdot \underset{\_}{H} \cdot \underset{\_}{E} \cdot \sigma^{2} \cdot} \right.} \right.} \\ {\left. {\left. {\underset{\_}{V} \cdot \underset{\_}{I} \cdot {\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}} \right) \cdot \underset{\_}{V}} \right\rbrack,} \\ {{= \left\lbrack {{{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}\left( {{{\underset{\_}{E}}^{H} \cdot {\underset{\_}{H}}^{H} \cdot \underset{\_}{H} \cdot \underset{\_}{E}} + {\sigma^{2} \cdot \underset{\_}{I}}} \right)} \cdot \underset{\_}{V}} \right\rbrack},} \end{matrix}$ where “(m)” has been omitted for clarity. The inverse of the term in the second equality above may then be expressed as: [V ^(H)(E ^(H) ·H ^(H) ·H·E+σ ² ·I)·V] ⁻¹ =[V ^(H)(E ^(H) ·H ·H·E+σ ² ·I)⁻¹·], where V^(H)=V⁻¹.

The spatial filter matrix M_(f—mmse)(m) may be computed as: M _(f—mmse)(m)=V ^(H)(m)·M _(f—mmse—base), for m=1 . . . M,  Eq (21) where M_(f—mmse—base)=[E^(h)·H^(H)·E+σ²·I]⁻¹·E^(H)·H^(H). Similar to the full-CSI technique, the spatial filter matrix M_(f—mmse)(m) for transmission span m may be obtained by pre-multiplying the base spatial filter matrix M_(f—mmse—base) with the steering matrix V^(H)(m). The spatial filter matrix M_(f—mmse)(m) may also be computed as: M _(f—mmse)(m)=W ₁(m)·M _(f—mmse)(1), for m=2 . . . M,  Eq (22) where M_(f—mmse)(1)=V^(H)(1)·[E^(H)·H^(H)·H·E+σ²·I]⁻¹·E^(H)·H^(H).

For the CCMI technique, the spatial filter matrix M_(ccmi)(m) with fully correlated channel response matrices may be expressed as: $\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} {{{{\underset{\_}{M}}_{ccmi}(m)} = {\left\lbrack {{{\underset{\_}{H}}_{p\_ eff}^{H}(m)} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{H}}_{p\_ eff}(m)}} \right\rbrack^{- 1} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{H}}_{p\_ eff}^{H}(m)}}},} \\ {{= {\left\lbrack {{{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{H}}^{H} \cdot \underset{\_}{H} \cdot {\underset{\_}{V}(m)}} \right\rbrack^{- 1} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{H}}^{H}}},} \\ {{= {\left\lbrack {{{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}(m)} \cdot \underset{\_}{R} \cdot {\underset{\_}{V}(m)}} \right\rbrack^{- 1} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{H}}^{H}}},} \\ {{= {{{\underset{\_}{V}}^{- 1}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{R}}^{- 1} \cdot \left\lbrack {{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}(m)} \right\rbrack^{- 1} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{H}}^{H}}},} \\ {{= {{{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{R}}^{- 1} \cdot {\underset{\_}{H}}^{H}}},} \end{matrix} & {{Eq}\quad(23)} \end{matrix}$ where [V^(H)(m)]⁻¹=V(m) because V(m) is a unitary matrix.

The spatial filter matrix M_(ccmi)(m) may thus be computed as: M _(ccmi)(m)=V ^(H)(m)·M _(ccmi—base), for m=1 . . . M,  Eq (24) where M_(ccmi—base)=R⁻¹·H^(H). The spatial filter matrix M_(ccmi)(m) may also be computed as: M _(ccmi)(m)=W ₁(m)·M _(ccmi)(1), for m=2 . . . M,  Eq (25) where M_(ccmi)(1)=V^(H)(1)·R⁻¹·H^(H).

For the MMSE technique for partial-CSI transmission, the spatial filter matrix M_(p—mmse)(m) with fully correlated channel response matrices may be expressed as: $\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} {{{{\underset{\_}{M}}_{p\_ mmse}(m)} = {\left\lbrack {{{\underset{\_}{H}}_{p\_ eff}^{H}{(m) \cdot {{\underset{\_}{H}}_{p\_ eff}(m)}}} + {\sigma^{2} \cdot \underset{\_}{I}}} \right\rbrack^{- 1} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{H}}_{p\_ eff}^{H}(m)}}},} \\ {= \left\lbrack {{{{{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{H}}^{H} \cdot \underset{\_}{H} \cdot \underset{\_}{V}}(m)} +} \right.} \\ {{\left. {\sigma^{2} \cdot \underset{\_}{I}} \right\rbrack^{- 1} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}(m)} \cdot {\underset{\_}{H}}^{H}},} \\ {= {{{\underset{\_}{V}}^{H}(m)} \cdot \left\lbrack {{{\underset{\_}{H}}^{H} \cdot \underset{\_}{H}} + {\sigma^{2} \cdot \underset{\_}{I}}} \right\rbrack^{- 1} \cdot {{\underset{\_}{H}}^{H}.}}} \end{matrix} & (26) \end{matrix}$ Equation (26) may be derived in similar manner as equation (20) above.

The spatial filter matrix M_(p—mmse)(m) maybe computed as: M _(p—mmse)(m)=V ^(H)(m)·M _(p—mmse—base) for m=1 . . . M,  Eq (27) where M_(p—mmse—base)=[H^(H)·H+σ²·I]⁻¹·H^(H). The spatial filter matrix M_(p—mmse)(m) may also be computed as: M _(p—mmse)(m)=W ₁(m)·M _(p—mmse)(1), for m=2 . . . M,  Eq (28) where M_(p—mmse)(1)=V^(H)(1)·[H^(H)·H+σ²·I]⁻¹·H^(H).

Table 3 summarizes the computation for the spatial filter matrices for full-CSI and partial-CSI transmissions with fully correlated channel response matrices over transmission spans m=1 . . . M. TABLE 3 Spatial Filter Matrices with Full Correlation Mode Spatial Filter Matrix Technique Full-CSI M _(fcsi) _(—) base = Λ ⁻¹ · E ^(H) · H ^(H), and Full-CSI M _(fcsi)(m) = V ^(H)(m) · M _(fcsi) _(—) base M _(f) _(—) mmse_base = [E ^(H) · H ^(H) · H · E + σ² · I]⁻¹ · E ^(H) · H ^(H), and MMSE M _(f) _(—) mmse_base(m) = V ^(H)(m) · M _(f) _(—) mmse_base Partial-CSI M _(ccmi) _(—) base = R ⁻¹ · H ^(H), and CCMI M _(ccmi)(m) = V ^(H)(m) · M _(ccmi) _(—) base M _(p) _(—) mmse_base = [ H ^(H) · H + σ² · I]⁻¹ · H ^(H), and MMSE M _(p) _(—) mmse(m) = V ^(H) (m) · M _(p) _(—) mmse_base

In general, the spatial filter matrix for transmission span m may be computed as M_(x)(m)=V^(H)(m)·M_(x—base), where the subscript “x” denotes the receiver processing technique and may be “fcsi”, “f_mmse”, “ccmi”, or “p_mmse”. The base spatial filter matrix M_(x—base) may be computed as if steering transmit diversity was not used.

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a process 400 to compute spatial filter matrices with fully correlated channel response matrices over transmission spans m=1 . . . M. An initial spatial filter matrix M_(x—init) is first computed (block 412). This initial spatial filter matrix may be the base spatial filter matrix M_(x—base) that is derived based on (1) the channel response matrix H and (2) the receiver processing technique selected for use (e.g., full-CSI, MMSE for full-CSI, CCMI, or MMSE for partial-CSI). Alternatively, the initial spatial filter matrix may be the spatial filter matrix M_(x)(l) for transmission span m=1, which may be derived based on H and V(1).

The transmission span index m is then set to 1 if M_(x—init)=_(x—base) (as shown in FIG. 4) or set to 2 if M_(x—init)=M_(x)(1) (block 414). The spatial filter matrix M_(x)(m) for transmission span m is then computed based on the initial spatial filter matrix M_(x—init) and the steering matrix V(m) used for transmission span m (block 416). In particular, M_(x)(m) may be computed based on either M_(x—base) and V(m) or M_(x)(1) and W₁(m), as described above. A determination is then made whether m<M (block 420). If the answer is ‘yes, then the index m is incremented (block 422), and the process returns to block 416 to compute the spatial filter matrix for another transmission span. Otherwise, if m=M in block 420, then the spatial filter matrices M_(x)(1) through M_(x)(M) are used for receiver spatial processing of received symbol vectors r_(x)(1) through r_(x)(M), respectively (block 424). Although not shown in FIG. 4 for simplicity, each spatial filter matrix may be used for receiver spatial processing as soon as both the spatial filter matrix M_(x)(m) is generated and the received symbol vector r_(x)(m) are obtained.

For full-CSI transmission, the spatial processing at the transmitting entity may also be simplified as: x_(f)(m)=E·V(m)·s(m). A matrix E·V(m) may be computed for each transmission span m based on the steering matrix V(m) for that transmission span and the matrix E, which is not a function of transmission span for the full correlation case.

B. Partial Correlation

With partial-correlation, the channel response matrices for the MIMO channel are less than fully correlated across a range of transmission span indices of interest. In this case, a spatial filter matrix computed for a transmission span l may be used to facilitate the computation of a spatial filter matrix for another transmission span m.

In an embodiment, a base spatial filter matrix M_(x—base)(l) for transmission span l is obtained from a spatial filter matrix M_(x)(l) computed for transmission span l by removing the steering matrix V(l) used for transmission span l, as follows: M _(x—base)(l)=V(l)·M _(x)(l).  Eq (29) The base spatial filter matrix M_(x—base)(l) is then used to derive a base spatial filter matrix M_(x—base)(m) for transmission span m (e.g., m=l+1). M_(x—base)(m) may be computed, e.g., using an iterative procedure or algorithm that iteratively performs a set of computations on M_(x—base)(l) to obtain a final solution for M_(x—base)(m). Iterative procedures for computing an MMSE solution (e.g., adaptive MMSE algorithms, gradient algorithm, lattice algorithms, and so on) are known in the art and not described herein. The spatial filter matrix M_(x)(m) for transmission span m may be computed as: M _(x)(m)=V ^(H)(m)·M _(x—base)(m).  Eq (30) The processing order for this embodiment may thus be given as: M_(x)(l)→M_(x—base)(l)=>M_(x—base)(m)→M_(x)(m), where “→” denotes a direct computation and “=>” denotes possible iterative computation. The base spatial filter matrices M_(x—base)(l) and M_(x—base)(m) do not contain steering matrices, whereas the spatial filter matrices M_(x)(l) and M_(x)(m) contain steering matrices V(l) and V(m) used for transmission spans l and m, respectively.

In another embodiment, the spatial filter matrix M_(x)(m) for transmission span m is computed using an iterative procedure that iteratively performs a set of computations on an initial guess {tilde over (M)}_(x)(m). The initial guess may be derived from the spatial filter matrix M (l) derived for transmission span l, as follows: {tilde over (M)} _(x)(m)=W _(l)(m)·M _(x)(l),  Eq (31) where W_(x)(m)=V^(H)(m)·V(l). The processing order for this embodiment may be given as: M_(x)(l)→{tilde over (M)}_(x)(m)=>M_(x)(m). The spatial filter matrices {tilde over (M)}_(x)(m) and M_(x)(m) both contain the steering matrix V(m) used for transmission span m.

For the above embodiments, M_(x—base)(l) and {tilde over (M)}_(x)(m) may be viewed as the initial spatial filter matrices used to derive the spatial filter matrix M_(x)(m) for a new transmission span m. In general, the amount of correlation between M_(x)(l) and M_(x)(m) is dependent on the amount of correlation between M_(x—base)(l) and M_(x—base)(m), which is dependent on the amount of correlation between H(l) and H(m) for transmission spans l and m. A higher degree of correlation may result in faster convergence to the final solution for M_(x)(l).

FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of a process 500 to compute spatial filter matrices with partially correlated channel response matrices for transmission spans m=1 . . . M. The indices for the current and next transmission spans are initialized as l=1 and m=2 (block 512). A spatial filter matrix M_(x)(l) is computed for transmission span l in accordance with the receiver processing technique selected for use (block 514). An initial spatial filter matrix M_(x—init) for transmission span m is then computed based on the spatial filter matrix M_(x)(l) and the proper steering matrix/matrices V(l) and V(m), e.g., as shown in equation (29) or (31) (block 516). The spatial filter matrix M_(x)(m) for transmission span m is then computed based on the initial spatial filter matrix M_(x—init), e.g., using an iterative procedure (block 518).

A determination is then made whether m<M (block 520). If the answer is ‘yes’, then the indices l and m are updated, e.g., as l=m and m=m+1 (block 522). The process then returns to block 516 to compute a spatial filter matrix for another transmission span. Otherwise, if all spatial filter matrices have been computed, as determined in block 520, then the spatial filter matrices M_(x)(1) through M_(x)(M) are used for receiver spatial processing of received symbol vectors r_(x)(1) through r_(x)(M), respectively (block 524).

For simplicity, FIG. 5 shows the computation of M spatial filter matrices for M consecutive transmission spans m=1 . . . M. The transmission spans do not need to be contiguous. In general, a spatial filter matrix derived for one transmission span l is used to obtain an initial guess of a spatial filter matrix for another transmission span m, where l and m may be any index values.

4. Steering Matrices

A set of steering matrices (or transmit matrices) may be generated and used for steering transmit diversity. These steering matrices may be denoted as {V}, or V(i) for i=1 . . . L, where L may be any integer greater than one. Each steering matrix V(i) should be a unitary matrix. This condition ensures that the N_(T) data symbols transmitted simultaneously using V(i) have the same power and are orthogonal to one another after the spatial spreading with V(i).

The set of L steering matrices may be generated in various manners. For example, the L steering matrices may be generated based on a unitary base matrix and a set of scalars. The base matrix may be used as one of the L steering matrices. The other L−1 steering matrices may be generated by multiplying the rows of the base matrix with different combinations of scalars. Each scalar may be any real or complex value. The scalars are selected to have unit magnitude so that steering matrices generated with these scalars are unitary matrices.

The base matrix may be a Walsh matrix. A 2×2 Walsh matrix W_(2×2) and a larger size Walsh matrix W_(2N×2N) may be expressed as: $\begin{matrix} {{{\underset{\_}{\mathcal{W}}}_{2 \times 2} = \begin{bmatrix} 1 & 1 \\ 1 & {- 1} \end{bmatrix}}{and}{{\underset{\_}{\mathcal{W}}}_{2N \times 2N} = {\begin{bmatrix} {\underset{\_}{\mathcal{W}}}_{N \times N} & {\underset{\_}{\mathcal{W}}}_{N \times N} \\ {\underset{\_}{\mathcal{W}}}_{N \times N} & {{- \underset{\_}{\mathcal{W}}}N \times N} \end{bmatrix}.}}} & {{Eq}\quad(32)} \end{matrix}$ Walsh matrices have dimensions that are powers of two (e.g., 2, 4, 8, and so on).

The base matrix may also be a Fourier matrix. For an N×N Fourier matrix D_(N×N), the element d_(n,m) in the n-th row and m-th column of D_(N×N) may be expressed as: $\begin{matrix} {{{d_{n,m} = {\mathbb{e}}^{{- {j2\pi}}\frac{{({n - 1})}{({m - 1})}}{N}}},{for}}{n = \left\{ {1\quad\ldots\quad N} \right\}}{and}{m = {\left\{ {1\quad\ldots\quad N} \right\}.}}} & {{Eq}\quad(33)} \end{matrix}$ Fourier matrices of any square dimension (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, and so on) may be formed. Other matrices may also be used as the base matrix.

For an N×N base matrix, each of rows 2 through N of the base matrix may be independently multiplied with one of K different possible scalars. K^(N−1) different steering matrices may be obtained from K^(N−1) different permutations of the K scalars for N−1 rows. For example, each of rows 2 through N may be independently multiplied with a scalar of +1, −1, +j, or −j. For N=4 and K=4, 64 different steering matrices may be generated from a 4×4 base matrix with four different scalars. In general, each row of the base matrix may be multiplied with any scalar having the form e^(jθ), where θ may be any phase value. Each element of a scalar-multiplied N×N base matrix is further scaled by 1/√{square root over (N)} to obtain an N×N steering matrix having unit power for each column.

Steering matrices derived based on a Walsh matrix (or a 4×4 Fourier matrix) have certain desirable properties. If the rows of the Walsh matrix are multiplied with scalars of ±1 and ±j, then each element of a resultant steering matrix is +1, −1, +j, or −j. In this case, the multiplication of an element (or “weight”) of a spatial filter matrix with an element of the steering matrix may be performed with just bit manipulation. If the elements of the L steering matrices belong in a set composed of {+1, −1, +j, −j}, then the computation to derive the spatial filter matrices for the full correlation case can be greatly simplified.

5. MIMO System

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an access point 610 and a user terminal 650 in a MIMO system 600. Access point 610 is equipped with Nap antennas that may be used for data transmission and reception, and user terminal 650 is equipped with N_(ut) antennas, where N_(ap)>1 and N_(ut)>1.

On the downlink, at access point 610, a TX data processor 620 receives and processes (encodes, interleaves, and symbol maps) traffic/packet data and control/ overhead data and provides data symbols. A TX spatial processor 630 performs spatial processing on the data symbols with steering matrices V(m) and possibly eigenvector matrices E(m) for the downlink, e.g., as shown in Tables 1 and 2. TX spatial processor 630 also multiplexes in pilot symbols, as appropriate, and provides N_(ap) streams of transmit symbols to N_(ap) transmitter units 632 a through 632 ap. Each transmitter unit 632 receives and processes a respective transmit symbol stream and provides a corresponding downlink modulated signal. N_(ap) downlink modulated signals from transmitter units 632 a through 632 ap are transmitted from N_(ap) antennas 634 a through 634 ap, respectively.

At user terminal 650, N_(ut) antennas 652 a through 652 ut receive the transmitted downlink modulated signals, and each antenna provides a received signal to a respective receiver unit 654. Each receiver unit 654 performs processing complementary to that performed by receiver unit 632 and provides received symbols. An RX spatial processor 660 performs receiver spatial processing on the received symbols from all N_(ut) receiver units 654 a through 654 ut, e.g., as shown in Tables 1 and 2, and provides detected data symbols. An RX data processor 670 processes (e.g., symbol demaps, deinterleaves, and decodes) the detected data symbols and provides decoded data for the downlink.

The processing for the uplink may be the same or different from the processing for the downlink. Traffic and control data is processed (e.g., encoded, interleaved, and symbol mapped) by a TX data processor 688, spatially processed by a TX spatial processor 690 with steering matrices V(m) and possibly eigenvector matrices E(m) for the uplink, and multiplexed with pilot symbols to generate N_(ut) transmit symbol streams. N_(ut) transmitter units 654 a through 654 ut condition the N_(ut) transmit symbol streams to generate N_(ut) uplink modulated signals, which are transmitted via N_(ut) antennas 652 a through 652 ut.

At access point 610, the uplink modulated signals are received by N_(ap) antennas 634 a through 634 ap and processed by N_(ap) receiver units 632 a through 632ap to obtain received symbols for the uplink. An RX spatial processor 644 performs receiver spatial processing on the received symbols and provides detected data symbols, which are further processed by an RX data processor 646 to obtain decoded data for the uplink.

Processors 638 and 678 perform channel estimation and spatial filter matrix computation for the access point and user terminal, respectively. Controllers 640 and 680 control the operation of various processing units at the access point and user terminal, respectively. Memory units 642 and 682 store data and program codes used by controllers 630 and 680, respectively.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of processor 678, which performs channel estimation and spatial filter matrix computation for user terminal 650. A channel estimator 712 obtains received pilot symbols and derives a channel response matrix for each transmission span in which received pilot symbols are available. A filter 714 may perform time-domain filtering of the channel response matrices for the current and prior transmission spans to obtain a higher quality channel response matrix H(m). A unit 716 then computes an initial spatial filter matrix M_(x—init).

For fully correlated H(m), the initial spatial filter matrix M_(x—init) may be (1) a base spatial filter matrix M_(x—base) computed based on H(m) and the selected receiver processing technique or (2) a spatial filter matrix M_(x)(1) for transmission span 1 computed based on H(1), V(1), and the selected receiver processing technique. For partially correlated H(m), the initial spatial filter matrix M_(x—init) may be an initial guess M_(x—base)(l) or {tilde over (M)}_(x)(m) that is obtained based on a spatial filter matrix M_(x)(l) computed for another transmission span l. A unit 718 computes the spatial filter matrix M_(x)(m) for transmission span m based on the initial spatial filter matrix M_(x—init) and the steering matrix V(m) used for that transmission span. For partially correlated H(m), unit 718 may implement an iterative procedure to compute for M_(x)(m) based on the initial spatial filter matrix, which is an initial guess of M_(x)(m).

Processor 638 performs channel estimation and spatial filter matrix computation for access point 610 and may be implemented in similar manner as processor 678.

The spatial filter matrix computation techniques described herein may be implemented by various means. For example, these techniques may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the processing units for spatial filter matrix computation may be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

For a software implementation, the spatial filter matrix computation may be performed with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on). The software codes may be stored in memory units (e.g., memory units 642 and 682 in FIG. 6) and executed by processors (e.g., controllers 640 and 680 in FIG. 6). The memory unit may be implemented within the processor or external to the processor, in which case it can be communicatively coupled to the processor via various means as is known in the art.

Headings are included herein for reference and to aid in locating certain sections. These headings are not intended to limit the scope of the concepts described therein under, and these concepts may have applicability in other sections throughout the entire specification.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. 

1. A method of deriving spatial filter matrices in a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, comprising: determining an initial spatial filter matrix; and deriving a plurality of spatial filter matrices for a plurality of transmission spans based on the initial spatial filter matrix and a plurality of steering matrices used for the plurality of transmission spans. 